


Pretty Hurts

by orphicsend



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: F/F, One Shot, Tenderness, it's 2am, sometime during season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-03 23:36:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15829251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphicsend/pseuds/orphicsend
Summary: Root goes undercover as a model and Shaw helps her get ready for the show.





	Pretty Hurts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [stoppressuringme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stoppressuringme/gifts), [ksrolima](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksrolima/gifts), [putherintheblack](https://archiveofourown.org/users/putherintheblack/gifts).



> for the OG cowboy squad - aka my best friends on discord. this is a pile of trash and so are we. enjoy.

“Ow.”

_Thirteen._

“Hold still. One would think you have a higher pain tolerance after that little drugging session with Control.”

“I tolerate pain when it's necessary. Or when I want it. Or both."

Root's smile turned into a frown pretty quickly as Sameen twisted the next strand of hair around the heating stick of metal. Being a model sucked. Next time, Root thought, she'd convince Reese do this part of the job while she would be the one hacking into the audience's phones and shooting the bad guys. In the kneecaps, of course – Harold was simply no fun. Not paying attention to keeping her head in the angle she'd been trained to put it, she giggled at the thought of the big lug in a raspberry red corset and hosiery textured tights with actual sown-in roses on top – the burnt spot on the back of her left ear would now act as a reminder not to do that.

“Ow.”

_Fourteen._

“Actual models have to do this everyday, you know.” Sameen said, unsure of what she was trying to achieve with this statement.

Root scoffed. “Well, actual models are also paid to do this everyday.”

She earned a you've-got-a-point-there look from the other woman in response. A bit more gently this time, Shaw separated a wave of stiffly-brushed, hazel brown hair from the ocean the rest of it was. The mixing scents of heavy hairspray, expensive rose perfume and _Root_ crept up into her from her fingertips and her nostrils all the way to her heart and she didn't know why it felt right and wrong at the same time. The silver of the mirror had peeled off around the edges. The air between them was thick as honey.

“Ow.”

_Fifteen._

Unable to swallow, Root focused on the calculated movements of the other woman's fingers against her skull. She was awake like she hadn't been in a long time – after all, this was the closest she and Sameen had ever been to each outside the bedroom. Still, maybe because of the way the dull light shone through the ever-present dust floating around in the air or maybe because she hadn't really gotten any sleep in a solid three days, she felt her eyelids dropping dangerously. The heat of the curling iron against bare skin was quick to make them snap open. It took her a second to realize it was her turn saying “ow”.

She heard the other woman sigh.

“Wanna know what my mom always used to tell me?” Sameen tilted her head slightly, letting her hands work on autopilot. This way, the spotlight behind them highlighted the way her dark, messy ponytail framed her sharp face. It was the only way to describe it, really. Angled eyebrows, high cheekbones. The dark circles around her eyes hidden by melted eyeliner and sweaty brown streaks.

_“Para ser bella hay que ver estrellas.”_

With that, Shaw finished curling the last strand with a final tug, a final burn, and it would be a lie to say the way the woman in front of her cried out in pain didn't amuse her a little.

“I don't speak Chinese.”, she responded provocatively. Already expecting the hot metal against her skin, Root prepared herself, wincing in advance. Instead, Shaw just rolled her eyes and set the curling iron aside. Too bad.

Sameen decided to rest her hands on Root's shoulder for a moment, appreciating the outcome of her work. Her eyes traveled across Root's body, admiring the way the corset hugged her figure. She wondered if the director would mind lending it – they'd save his life tonight, so there surely could be done something. Following her eyes, Root grinned knowingly and Sameen averted her gaze.

“Pretty hurts”, she said, bittersweet, staring at an undesignated object near the low ceiling.

“So you think I'm pretty.”

It was more of a statement than a question.

Sameen didn't know whether to wipe that stupid smirk off her face with a fist or with a kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> feedback is appreciated :-)


End file.
